Do Bullies Rule

If you think that bullies are found only in the school setting you need to think again. Just about everyone has been bullied. Even as adults we have had experiences where someone may have tried to bully us. On the playground a bully might try to do physical harm to someone weaker than themselves. But as we get older bullying takes on a different persona. The adult bully tries to belittle another person to hurt them emotionally, psychologically, socially, or even to the extent of damaging their reputation. Most ministers I know who have served for a few years have been the target of a bully. I’m sure bullying occurs in every profession.

What does an adult bully look like? An adult bully is a person who never grew up. It is someone who is very immature. They don’t like to be wrong. They always want to get their way. They want to be the king or queen who rules in whatever situation they find themselves. Deep down they don’t have a very good self image. They may even loathe themselves although they they appear to have it altogether. They are liars. They are manipulative. They are abusive. They are much more dangerous than the playground bully.

Something I’ve noticed is that there are bullies on social media sites. There is a difference in disagreeing with something that another person posts on their site and attacking that person because of their opinion. I think this happens most often when the subject has to do with politics or one's faith. We have all seen really hateful, cutting remarks made by those who disagree with another person's thoughts about a topic. Those snide remarks which are seemingly innocently made are nothing but the childish bullie’s manipulative intent to make someone look bad and hurt them.

We may not be able to do a lot about the adult bully in the workplace or a social setting, but on social media we don’t have to put up with those who try to bully us. We can do something about that problem. All you have to do is go to settings and with a couple of checks that bully can be extinguished, so to speak. In the end bullies do not rule.